5 Thoughts Rochester Has About The ‘Sarahah’ App

You've probably already heard everyone talking about the new "anonymous critique" app Sarahah. Rochester has some thoughts on how it's used.

Just for some background, Sarahah is an app that boasts you can, "get honest feedback from your coworkers and friends." Anonymously. This information comes from fellow users who have created their own profiles that you can search for.

This begs the question: Are we encouraging cyberbullying? Are we opening a form of Pandora's box that is best kept shut? We see cyberbullying enough as it is. Especially with our children.

TheDo Something campaign explains, "Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. 1 in 4 has had it happen more than once." That's just when it's reported. Furthermore, they report that "over 80% of teens use a cell phone regularly, making it the most common medium for cyber bullying." Of course, cyberbullying isn't exclusive to teens. Adults engage in it as well.

My other questions are: Does the fact that this app allows "anonymous critiques" really increase the potential for cyberbullying incidents? Its happened frequently before Sarahah's creation. We know people will still engage in such behavior, even with their name fully displayed.

Here's what Rochester thinks about the app and its use.

1

"I see a lot of bullying coming from it."

Mean people will be mean no matter what, plain and simple.

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2

"I don't have it, but, have seen some of the things that others are getting and I think it is creepy."

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3

"I have it, but am deleting it."

"Friends" wouldn't say these things to you annonymously.

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4

"I have it, it's honestly just like opening the opportunity for teens to get bullied."